Within a climate characterized by increasingly diverse and nontraditional student populations and by general student disinterest in learning, the liberal arts have declined precipitously in community colleges. Rather than serving primarily as stepping stones to higher education, community colleges now serve mainly as sources of occupational and remedial education and cultural and recreational activities. Transfer programs have become especially weak with little linearity of sequence in the curriculum. At many colleges efforts have been made to restructure and strengthen the liberal arts, including: (1) the integration of liberal arts courses in community services and continuing education into the regular academic program; (2) the placement of liberal arts instruction in occupational courses; (3) the improvement and expansion of interdisciplinary offerings; (4) the extended use of learning laboratories and other student support services in liberal arts courses; (5) closer articulation with high schools; (6) the establishment or expansion of honors programs to attract gifted students; (7) the creation of liberal arts advisory committees to help formulate goals, evaluate programs, and improve job placement; and (8) the development of a liberal arts career program to prepare students for careers for which an understanding of society and good communications skills and work habits would provide a strong foundation. With involvement, dialogue, and outreach, each of these activities could and should be strengthened. (DB)